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Losing weight shown to boost vitamin D levels

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

Losing weight may lead to significant improvements in a person's vitamin D test results. A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that the more pounds an individual sheds, the higher their vitamin D levels climb.

Low blood levels of the nutrient have previously been shown to be connected to obesity. However, it was not known that losing weight could have such a positive effect on nutritional status.

However, after testing the effects of weight loss in 439 individuals, researchers from scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that those who lost 15 percent of their body weight experienced a threefold increase in their vitamin D levels.

While those who lost between 5 and 10 percent of their total weight were able to increase their blood levels of the nutrient somewhat, the gains were nowhere near as significant as those who lost 15 percent or more.

"It appears that the relationship between weight loss and blood vitamin D is not linear but goes up dramatically with more weight loss," said Anne McTiernan, who led the study.